Tag Archives: winter

During the winter months, there is bound to be salt on the roads to prevent snow build-up. And while this is excellent for protecting drivers from the snow, the constant salt splashing against your vehicle can damage the finish, cause rust, and even affect the mechanics.

To keep the salt damage to a minimum, there are a few major steps you can take.

Wash your car as frequently as possible, at least once every other week.

Don’t drive through deep snow, and try to avoid snow entirely when possible.

Try not to splash through large puddles, instead driving through them particularly slowly.

Especially in winter time, the interior of your car can get pretty dirty. You’re tracking in mud, snow, leaves, and all kinds of things that don’t belong, so you’ll want to give your car a thorough cleaning sometime this season to keep it from getting irredeemably gross before spring hits. Here are some easy tips on how to clean your car’s interior!

First, get some supplies together. Make sure you have a vacuum with hose attachments and an extension cord that can reach from your car to an outlet. Get paper towels, window cleaner, a hose, and vinyl cleaner if you have vinyl seats.

Clear out any trash in the car before you start the actual cleaning. Next, take out the floor mats. Hook up your vacuum and sweep everywhere—the floor by your feet, under the seats, the seats themselves. Next, shake out or vacuum the floor mats and hose them down if they’re plastic and especially dirty.

If you have vinyl seat covers, spray them with a vinyl cleaner and wipe them down. Now, use window cleaner to clean the dashboard and windows. Then, you’re done!

There are a lot of reasons we use more fuel when it’s cold. It takes longer for cars to warm to their optimum temperature for fuel, for one. Plus, when we use heaters, seat warmers, and the defrost, it takes more energy, which uses up more fuel. Cold air also increases wind resistance, decreases tire pressure, and hurts your battery’s performance.

But there are plenty of easy things you can do to reverse some of these problems. Don’t warm up your car before you go somewhere—idling is the biggest waste of gas there is. If you have a garage, park inside it, so your car spends less time getting up to temperature. And check your tire pressure regularly! If they’re low, fill ‘em up.